Dismal: A Spreadsheet for Sequential Data Analysis and HCI Experimentation

Abstract

Dismal is a spreadsheet that works within the GNU Emacs editor, a widely available programmable editor. Dismal has three particular features of interest to those interested in studying behavior: (a) the ability to manipulate and align sequential data, (b) an open architecture that allows users to expand it to meet their particular needs, and (c) an instrumented and accessible interface for studies of human-computer interaction (HCI). Example uses of these capabilities are provided including two cognitive models that have had their behavior aligned with protocols, extensions useful for teaching and doing HCI design, and studies using keystroke logs from the timing package in Dismal. Dismal is distributed with the help of the Free Software Foundation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 24, 2002
Accession Number
ADA436412

Entities

People

  • Alexander B. Wood
  • Frank Ritter

Organizations

  • Pennsylvania State University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cognitive Science
  • Cognitive Systems Engineering
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Data Analysis
  • Databases
  • Engineering
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Information Science
  • Language
  • Natural Languages
  • New York
  • Social Sciences
  • Spreadsheet Software

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.